Why Do You Support Your Candidate?

[stevento]

Why should (s)he be the president of the united states of america?
I'm curious.

Here's why I support Hillary:

1. Healthcare. When Hillary fought for it in the 1990's she warned everyone that if we continue not to cover everyone, eventually the healthcare industry will become as it is today. now that's there's a healthcare crisis every democrat has a universal healthcare plan but who's been advocating it for 16 years? We need to provide healthcare to each and every citizen in this country at a price people can afford. Not continue to let the industry cherry pick who they want to cover and who they dont. Not have people pay huge premiums then when they get sick the company says "oh you probably had a pre existing condition. give us all your medical records from the last 40 years or we're not covering it"
not continue to let people die because they can't afford a $300,000 operation.

2. Economy. Remember the 90's when we took it for granted that the gov't worked for us and not against us? We had a good president who had pro-growth, pro-jobs policies. Bush continues to borrow untold trillions from China so we can't get tough with them on trade and we give tax cuts to corporations who send jobs to china. Bush advocates the policy of subcontracting our jobs that produce defense products to China...:confused: Is this not the most backwards thing you've ever heard of? It's like he is purposely doing the exact opposite of what needs to be done.

3. Experience (you guys are going to hit me on this one i know) Hillary has already been there. She knows how it works. She knows the world's leaders and they know her. She has the experience. I continue to uphold the fact that she was not just the president's wife. She was his partner, part of his administration. We have had a president who was completely unqualified from the day he took office. We need someone who is qualified to this job.

4. Education. Hillary wants to make college affordable by making the gov't get into the business of direct lending again. She wants to throw NCLB in the trash because it quite honestly hit the ground failing. As soon as it was implemented it was a total failure. It's just the wrong thing to do. My mom knows; she's a school teacher.

[savanahrose]

Hey don't mock me or anything but I think he is the guy with answers. He was the one who FIRST came out with a plan. Some of the things he has said I don't agree with but for the most part I do.

1.I don't think we need to be policing the world. I think we need to take care of ourselves first and foremost.
2. He wants to close our borders.
3. He wants to bring our men and women home (from every where)
4. I think he is the only one with the knowledge to get our country out of its financial woes.
5. He is the one with the most experience.

AND YES HE IS STILL IN THE RUNNING....:D

But if he is not on the ballot in November, I think Hillary would be the best candidate.

[iFizz]

I don't like any of the candidates. :rolleyes:

[yg17]

AND YES HE IS STILL IN THE RUNNING....:D

Uh, no he's not.

[.Andy]

Uh, no he's not.
Oh yes he is! He's even got his runing shoes on.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5676/4249a60dde826a9cfcce530by5.jpg

[yg17]

Oh yes he is! He's even got his runing shoes on.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5676/4249a60dde826a9cfcce530by5.jpg


LOL! You kinda feel sorry for him after seeing that pic, then you realize what a whackjob he is and then are just happy he doesn't have a chance in hell.

[PlaceofDis]

LOL! You kinda feel sorry for him after seeing that pic, then you realize what a whackjob he is and then are just happy he doesn't have a chance in hell.

Link (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/28/ron-paul-the-revolution-lives-on/)

Ron Paul is still trying to run, he never officially dropped out i think. and he's not 'insane' he just has a very certain idea on how things should be done, which just won't work here in America imo. disbanding all federal programs and leaving things up to the states would effectively split the US into 50 individual countries with one small unifying body. just won't work. but anyways....

[LeahM]

Because hes not Hillary

and the whitehouse is to me a little too white. It could use some color.

Not really a great reasons but nontheless they are my reasons.

[leekohler]

Link (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/28/ron-paul-the-revolution-lives-on/)

Ron Paul is still trying to run, he never officially dropped out i think. and he's not 'insane' he just has a very certain idea on how things should be done, which just won't work here in America imo. disbanding all federal programs and leaving things up to the states would effectively split the US into 50 individual countries with one small unifying body. just won't work. but anyways....

I read his website and he is what I would qualify as insane, in the sense that enacting the things he wants to do is insane.

[PlaceofDis]

I read his website and he is what I would qualify as insane in the sense that enacting the things he wants to do is insane.

well yeah, their certainly a bit 'out there' and more than easily not possible imo.

[yg17]

Link (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/28/ron-paul-the-revolution-lives-on/)

Ron Paul is still trying to run, he never officially dropped out i think. and he's not 'insane' he just has a very certain idea on how things should be done, which just won't work here in America imo. disbanding all federal programs and leaving things up to the states would effectively split the US into 50 individual countries with one small unifying body. just won't work. but anyways....


He doesn't think he can win, does he? Why the hell else would he still be in it

[zap2]

Because hes not Hillary

and the whitehouse is to me a little too white. It could use some color.

Not really a great reasons but nontheless they are my reasons.

Those are terrible reasons.... The race one more so.

I support Obama because his stances are good.... Healthcare, Iraq and our place in the world

[PlaceofDis]

Those are terrible reasons.... The race one more so.

I support Obama because his stances are good.... Healthcare, Iraq and our place in the world

terrible reasons as they may be, at least their honest reasons, and in all reality, many people vote based off of their emotions toward a given candidate than the actual stances.

[trebblekicked]

I'm supporting Obama, but will support Clinton if she wins the nomination (all the reasons Stevento mentioned are valid, to one degree or another)

1. Economy
In an effort to help the middle class regain their fair share of the economic expansion of the 80's and 90's, Obama is on record with an economic policy that will stimulate the middle class. This includes reducing and simplifying the middle class tax burden, improving labor's position in the workforce by staffing a balanced labor relations board, reinvesting in public works and infrastructure and amending NAFTA to bring some of the manufacturing jobs back into the states.

2. Foreign Policy
Obama is on record as having an over-the-counter foreign policy, ie: no prerequisites to open dialogue. This is a huge step in the right direction. Our positions in the global community should not be so tenuous that we'd be afraid of debate, and frankly the world is tired of the White House setting the agenda for the rest of the world. I'd love to see a president who's not afraid of meeting with Iran, Syria, Colombia, Kenya, et al.

3. Health Care
Obama's health care plan is identical to Clinton's and Edwards' minus the mandatory coverage requisite (they both enroll primarily through the workforce, they both roll out similar plans to the ones the senators themselves have, they both have premiums, they both have details that need a lot of work). Seeing as he can't write the legislation for the program and the details are destined to be mired in committee for untold months or years, I'm more confident in his ability to get functional healthcare reform through congress than Clinton.

4. Ethics & Lobby
Obama does take individual donations from members of various industries (oil, healthcare, etc). Seeing as these donations are capped at a personal maximum, I can live with that. His refusal to take money directly from lobby firms and PAC's is the firmest stance against lobby money that a serious presidential candidate has taken this year. The majority of his funds come from individual people donating under $200. He is not tied to special interests, at least not to the degree that the other candidates are.

5. Iraq
He's been against it from the beginning, and will represent a marked change in direction from the current administration. He will draw troop numbers down, and combined with his willingness to get personally involved with leaders from the area, will be in a good position to speed up diplomatic solutions while reducing military presence.

6. Equal Rights
His comment that "America isn't ready for gay marriage" is, in fact, true. America isn't. But given his record in Illinois, fighting against prohibitive legislation towards same sex unions, fighting for non-discrimination in the workplace and housing market, marching in the pride parade, and being the only candidate to include any mention of gay americans in their stump speech, I'm confident he will stop the current trends of rights-limiting state laws and change the frame of the equal rights debate so that it becomes a rights issue and not a morality issue.

7. Education
Two keep components of his education plan strike me as brilliant: The Zero to Five plan and the Afterschool plan. Zero to five aims to encourage states to adopt universal pre-school. Looking back, pre-school was a fundamental element of my formative years, sparking a life-long interest in academic matters, such that it continues to this day. Through pre-school (a non-demonational Christian pre-school, mind you) I was already reading when I went into a full-day Kindergarten. Committing to early education is vital to changing drop-out rates down the road. The Afterschool plan, doubling funding for special interest programs is likewise vital. I was lucky enough to participate in a magnet program throughout middle and high school, and the extra opportunities in the arts led me to my current career. Identifying and fostering extracurricular interests in engaged students will keep students moving forward and will provide a good deal of pre-college specialty education.

8. Net Neutrality
It's a fringe issue, for sure, but he's committed to keeping the tubes neutral. His refusal to take money from the telecoms factors in here as well.

9. Intangibles
He's bringing a new tone to politics, and is committed to getting past the triangulation days. In his interview on FOX, he affirmed his plan to hire both Democrats and Republicans in his cabinet. He's not bound to the party line. He's a great motivator of people; his campaign's website has a community section that is set up just brilliantly in that it encourages and rewards community participation; not just for his campaign, but for non-political service like neighborhood clean up. By encouraging people to take an active role not just in his campaign, and not just politics, but in their community, he's effecting change on the ground level. Like he says, things don't change from the top down, they change from the bottom up.

EDIT: 10. 50 States
The Dems have followed the same political roadmap to electoral defeat in all but 2 of the presidential elections since 1980. That's almost 30 years, for those keeping track. Obama's strong appeal in mountain west states (Colorado, the Dakotas, Idaho) and his play in the upper midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa) changes the electoral map. By instigating and funding a 50-state voter registration program, he's reaching out to the Democrats who've been shouted down in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and the Deep South. Given his ability to fundraise and coordinate pavement-pounding volunteers, this bodes well not just for his chances in the general, but for down ballot candidacies as well, and for the Democratic Party at large as it continues to rebuild itself after the 1990's.

[Eraserhead]

Bush continues to borrow untold trillions from China so we can't get tough with them on trade and we give tax cuts to corporations who send jobs to china. Bush advocates the policy of subcontracting our jobs that produce defense products to China...:confused: Is this not the most backwards thing you've ever heard of? It's like he is purposely doing the exact opposite of what needs to be done.

Its not just China who have lent him cash, the House of Saud have too. The Saudi Arabians now own around 10% of the US I believe.

[solvs]

I don't, just plan on voting against McCain because he's decided to embrace Bush's failed policies and Obama just couldn't be worse.